Desegregation of Schools: The Little Rock Nine:
The Little Rock nine were a group of nine students that wanted desegregation of schools. They were recruited by Daisy Bates who was president of the Arkansas branch of the NAACP. On September 4 1957, the first day of school at Central High School, a white mob gathered outside the school and the Governor, Orval Faubus, called in the national guard to prevent the nine black students from entering the school. Later in the year the NAACP won a court case that prevented the Governor from keeping the black students out of the school.On September 23rd the nine students entered the school for the first time through a side entrance. The students were then rushed out of the school and the end of the day because of the fear of violence. 16% of negro students in the lower states attended a desegregated school. This number was relatively low considering of desegregation was deemed unconstitutional.
Photograph showing a group of people, several holding signs and American flags, protesting the admission of the "Little Rock Nine" to Central High School.
The NAACP:
A group of people called the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, fought the government to get African Americans into all white schools. They launched a concerted legal attack against school segregation and Jim Crow law. In 1933 Nathan Ross Mangold, while working for the NAACP, came up with and published a legal strategy for desegregating schools. Also when the state of Missouri refused to allow Lloyd Lionel Gaines to enroll in an all white law school the NAACP backed him in court. Missouri stated that they would build a law building for at the all black school or pay his full tuition to attend an out of state school.
A member of the NAACP recruiting new members in order to fight for freedom.
Desegregation Percentages in the USA:
Between 1964 and 1972 southern schools started to desegregate rapidly. In 1968 a total of 64 percent of African Americans attended minority schools. By 1980 only 33 percent attended minority schools that number was even lower in the south. In 1973 desegregation reached its high point when Keyes vs. Denver School Board No. 1 went to the Supreme Court. the Supreme Court ruled that not only must African Americans be included in desegregation plans but latinos as well. Due to suburbanization whites fled the inner cities resulting in desegregation dropping again.
This is an image of an African American school in south boston
Prince Edward County:
In 1951 a group of black high-school students in Prince Edward County, Virginia went on strike against inadequate facilities is their segregated school. The NAACP at first tried to stop these protests because they felt rural Virginia was a bad place to challenge the Jim Crow laws. The students were relentless and they would not back down. Eventually, once the NAACP saw how dedicated the students were to bring desegregation to their school, the NAACP offered lawyers to the students and sponsored a lawsuit against segregation.
A photo of one of many strike signs in Prince Edward County
The Little Rock Nine:
The Little Rock nine were a group of nine students that wanted desegregation of schools. They were recruited by Daisy Bates who was president of the Arkansas branch of the NAACP. On September 4 1957, the first day of school at Central High School, a white mob gathered outside the school and the Governor, Orval Faubus, called in the national guard to prevent the nine black students from entering the school. Later in the year the NAACP won a court case that prevented the Governor from keeping the black students out of the school.On September 23rd the nine students entered the school for the first time through a side entrance. The students were then rushed out of the school and the end of the day because of the fear of violence. 16% of negro students in the lower states attended a desegregated school. This number was relatively low considering of desegregation was deemed unconstitutional.
The NAACP:
A group of people called the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, fought the government to get African Americans into all white schools. They launched a concerted legal attack against school segregation and Jim Crow law. In 1933 Nathan Ross Mangold, while working for the NAACP, came up with and published a legal strategy for desegregating schools. Also when the state of Missouri refused to allow Lloyd Lionel Gaines to enroll in an all white law school the NAACP backed him in court. Missouri stated that they would build a law building for at the all black school or pay his full tuition to attend an out of state school.
Desegregation Percentages in the USA:
Between 1964 and 1972 southern schools started to desegregate rapidly. In 1968 a total of 64 percent of African Americans attended minority schools. By 1980 only 33 percent attended minority schools that number was even lower in the south. In 1973 desegregation reached its high point when Keyes vs. Denver School Board No. 1 went to the Supreme Court. the Supreme Court ruled that not only must African Americans be included in desegregation plans but latinos as well. Due to suburbanization whites fled the inner cities resulting in desegregation dropping again.
Prince Edward County:
In 1951 a group of black high-school students in Prince Edward County, Virginia went on strike against inadequate facilities is their segregated school. The NAACP at first tried to stop these protests because they felt rural Virginia was a bad place to challenge the Jim Crow laws. The students were relentless and they would not back down. Eventually, once the NAACP saw how dedicated the students were to bring desegregation to their school, the NAACP offered lawyers to the students and sponsored a lawsuit against segregation.
For more information on the Little Rock Nine: http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/ak1.htm
For more information on the Prince Edward County strike: http://virginiahumanities.org/2011/12/moton-school-strike-and-prince-edward-county-school-closings/
For more information on the NAACP
For more information on desegregation percentages